A Seekers-First Permissions Model
We know that the relationship between a social worker or other helping professional and a Seeker, a person searching for services, is built on a trust that develops over time.
That sense of trust is crucial when helping Seekers. Our platform’s built-in privacy options ensure that Seekers decide which organizations they trust with their information.
On our social care network, Seekers own their full referral history and control access to their own information. Seekers use built-in options to consent to share information, and to revoke access to organizations if they choose, at any time.
Our Approach to Privacy
At Aunt Bertha, putting the Seeker first guides everything we do. Three principles shape our approach to privacy:
- Seekers should give consent to organizations before their information is shared;
- Seekers should know who has access to their information; and
- Seekers should be able to remove organizations that have access to their information.
Check out our whitepaper below to learn more about our approach to privacy and trust.
We Believe in Consent, Not Coercion
Other Vendors
Under a loose, “all-in” permissions approach, a Seeker is asked for their consent to share their information broadly with a “network.”
Networks change and grow over time. When a Seeker agrees to share personal information, they do so without knowing who could access it in the future. This means that the most intimate details of a Seeker’s most troubling moments in life live in a database somewhere. Even worse, they’re searchable by anyone with appropriate access. “All-in” consent is much simpler for vendors to manage, but it doesn’t go far enough to protect the private information of Seekers during their most vulnerable moments.
Aunt Bertha
Under a controlled, “per-referral” permissions approach, a Seeker is asked for their consent to share their information only with parties involved in that referral.
Their referral history contains information that is private, including their interactions with nonprofits. Our approach is to make it easy for Seekers to give authorized parties access to their information in one click, while respecting the Seeker’s right to privacy. On our network, the Seeker owns their own referral history. We have found that this approach provides the highest level of security, accountability, and ease of use.
Key Privacy Features
- Ability to Search Anonymously: Anyone can use our site to connect to resources anonymously. There’s no need to sign in or share personal information to find resources. If the Seeker reaches out and sends information to a Community-Based Organization, it’s only shared with that CBO.
- Don’t Reach Out: When someone makes a referral, they can note if the Seeker should not be contacted by a CBO – without disclosing whether it’s a safety measure (as in cases of domestic violence) or an administrative preference.
- Controlled Access: Seekers can remove an organization’s access to their information whenever they want. They can view and edit permissions for organizations that have access to their referrals history.
How does it work?
Please get in touch by scheduling a demo below.
At Aunt Bertha, meeting key regulations and protecting sensitive information is important to the integrity of the network. We are not only compliant with HIPAA standards, but we’re proud to be among a small group of organizations around the world to earn HITRUST CSF Certification and HITRUST Certification of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework for our site, endpoints, and supporting infrastructure.
Our Data Access Model
Protecting the Seeker
We all have tough moments in life, whether it’s an addiction, unemployment, or just a series of bad events. This information is sensitive, and we don’t want just anyone seeing it. On our platform, the Seeker is in control of who sees that private referral, with the ability to share or remove access over time.
Providing CBOs with Data
The CBOs in our network are dedicated to helping people in need. They’ve built trust with the people they serve, and they don’t take that responsibility lightly. CBOs in our network often make referrals on behalf of their Seekers, and they choose whom to share outcomes information with.
Providing Customers with Data
Our customers want to have the right context to help the people they serve. But they also respect people’s privacy. They have access to referrals they are a party to (including responses), as well as access to information that members of the network share with them.
Take a look at our webinar below and learn how Aunt Bertha is providing data without compromising on Seeker privacy.
Better Privacy Tools for Seekers
This year, we’ll release a new feature which will let care staff request access to a Seeker’s referral history. Seekers will have control over who they share their referral information with and can revoke access to shared referrals anytime.
Want to learn more?
We are always releasing new tools and features for care teams. If you’re interested in learning more, please get in touch by scheduling a demo.
